July 8-12, Gallim Dance in Andrea Miller's "Blush"
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BECKET, Mass. – Following their Pillow debut on the Inside/Out stage in 2008, New York City-based Gallim Dance returns to Jacob’s Pillow July 8–12 with a performance encompassing a wide spectrum of movement and music. The company will present Andrea Miller’s Blush, a dance of layered intensity that moves from delicate, probing gestures to a full-throttle revolt against the confines of its own space. Artistic Director Miller danced with Ohad Naharin’s Ensemble Batsheva before forming her own company in 2006. “With space-eating phrases both charmingly awkward and wildly technical,” Jen Peters writes in Dance Magazine, “Andrea Miller’s Gallim Dance has burst onto NYC’s downtown scene.” The company will also perform excerpts of Miller’s I Can See Myself in Your Pupil as part of the Pillow’s exclusive Season Opening Gala program on June 20.
Ella Baff, Jacob’s Pillow Executive Director, comments about Gallim Dance, “It’s new, it’s exciting. Here is a choreographer with a laser eye, an adventurous ear for music, and she’s put together a group of dancers who burn up the floor in Blush. Andrea is one of the most talented choreographers to come along in recent years.”
Episodic in structure, Blush’s chapters are distinguished by a shifting array of movement tones and designs. Dancers shoot intricate, sequential ripples through their joints and in the next moment quake with stutters. Human connections, when found, are fleeting, tender, and complicated. The climax-at full-tilt energy -leads to a frenzied circling of the stage. Metro New York says the work “displays an almost painterly command of movement.” Andrea Miller’s choreographic attention to detail is evident in the score of the work as well as its movement. Blush is set to a wide assortment of alternately dense and spare tunes, including compositions by M.I.A., Radiohead, Joy Division, Wolf Parade, and Chopin. Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times writes that Blush “features a highly physical movement style that buckles torsos and lashes limbs in exhilaratingly illogical fashion.”
Artistic Director and choreographer Andrea Miller studied Humphrey/Weidman technique as a child and often visited Jacob’s Pillow. Her mother’s Spanish heritage and father’s Jewish faith have influenced her work and after graduating from The Juilliard School in New York City, Miller moved to Israel to join Ensemble Batsheva. There she spent two years working under the direction of renowned choreographer Ohad Naharin. She has also danced with The Limón Dance Company, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (who will perform at the Pillow’s Ted Shawn Theatre the same week as Gallim Dance), and Buglisi Dance Theater.
In 2006, Miller established Gallim Dance (“waves” in Hebrew) with dancer Francesca Romo. She is the winner of the Hubbard Street 2 Choreographic Competition, a recipient of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council MCAF Grant, and a former Stella Adler Studio of Acting Artist in Residence. Her dances have been performed in the United States, Canada, and Israel; recent commissions include Zenon Dance Company in Minnesota, Repertory Dance Theater in Utah, and Arts Umbrella in Vancouver. Dance Magazine named Miller one of “25 to Watch” in January 2009, and she will serve as Resident Choreographer for North Netherlands Dance in Groningen, Holland from 2009 to 2011. As one of his first acts as Ballet Hispanico’s new Artistic Director, Eduardo Vilaro commissioned a new work from Miller.
For more information on Gallim Dance and Jacob’s Pillow visit www.gallimdance.com and www.jacobspillow.org.
Performance and Ticket Information
Wednesday, July 8 through Saturday, July 11, at 8:15pm.
Saturday, July 11, at 2:15pm
Sunday, July 12, at 5pm
· Tickets are $33, with discounts available for subscribers, seniors, students, and children age 16 and under. To sign up for Student Rush Ticket alerts, email info@jacobspillow.org.
· Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Theatre porch 30 minutes before every performance.
· Friday, July 10, Gallim Dance performers and/or artistic personnel will participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk, on stage immediately following the performance.
· Box Office hours: Monday through Saturday, 10am – 6pm, and Sunday 11am – 6pm.
· To purchase, call the Box Office at 413.243.0745 or order online at www.jacobspillow.org.
· Pillow Members receive exclusive benefits. To become a Member call 413.243.9919 x24.
Jacob’s Pillow is located at 358 George Carter Road in Becket, MA, 01223 (10 minutes east on Route 20 from Mass Pike Exit 2). The Jacob’s Pillow campus and theaters are handicapped-accessible.
